Crush
by Kagome1514
Summary: Even though it seemed ridiculous, some part of Riku believed that the Valentine's Day note came from Sora. The question is: who really is the author of the notes? RxS.
1. My Secret Valentine

**A/N: Hello, all! Welcome to my newest fic (inspired by Valentine's Day)! **

**I dedicate this fic as both a Valentine's Day and a birthday present to my awesome beta, **_**hunted-snark**_**! xoxo! Happy birthday, my bestest best friend! Lol. **

**: D **

**Full summary: Ever since freshman year, Riku had had a crush on Sora. It was because of Sora that he was the way that he was: socially active, into sports, and an Honors student. He did it all so that Sora would notice him. However, try as he might, Riku could not get up the courage to actually **_**talk **_**to his crush. He was just about to give up hope on Sora when he received a Valentine's Day note from a secret admirer. Even though it seemed ridiculous, some part of Riku believed that the Valentine's Day note came from Sora. The question is: who really is the author of the notes? RxS.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to **_**Kingdom Hearts **_**or anything associated therein. **

**Told from Riku's P.O.V.**

* * *

_Crush_

* * *

Chapter One: My Secret Valentine

It was a major shock to my system when I walked into my Government-turned-Economics class and found that _he _sat in the seat directly behind mine. Even though my heart seemed to have leaped into my throat, I forcefully kept my face stoical and took my assigned seat, staring at the door to the classroom just to keep my eyes somewhere. Sure, there was a new seating chart, but I had requested that I keep the same seat for second semester. (I said that it was because I could see better at the front, but really it was because I knew that _Sora _could not see well.) I don't know why I was so surprised to find that our teacher had placed Sora behind me; maybe it was because I never expected to get my secret wish.

I suppose the real reason that I was so shocked was because Sora hadn't been in my Government class first semester; he was in period three while I was in period one. However, apparently, his schedule got switched around for his second semester. I couldn't have been happier. I was so ecstatic that I contemplated hugging Mrs. Green, our teacher, for the seating arrangement; of course, it was probably just coincidence, anyway.

Mrs. Green made her introductory speech, which included slightly joking, "Yes, we are in the same room, but now we are moving into the wonderful world of Economics!" and going into detail on this class' objectives. I listened, but, for the most part, I was dreamily thinking about the fact that my crush since freshman year was sitting behind me.

There were a few facts that I knew about Sora (some of it from observing him in classes during the past three and a half years of high school thus far; some of it from the grapevine—friends of mine who were familiar with friends of Sora). Though he was a senior as well, Sora was a year younger than I, but he was smart for his age. He had been in a couple of my Honors classes in previous years and was now in most of my classes this year—our senior year. The classes we had in common: Probability and Statistics, AP Japanese, AP Literature and Composition (AP Lit & Comp, for short), and now… college prep-level Economics. This meant that there was only _one _class this year that did not have Sora in it.

I was definitely liking my senior year thus far. I only had five classes; Sora had six (because he was an assistant for some teacher sixth period). During my non-existent sixth period, I usually just hung out in the library and worked on my homework; if I didn't have homework, I would either surf the Internet on the school computers, look for a book to read, sleep at one of the tables, or go off-campus to get a snack. This made for a rather easy-going senior year, and I was definitely glad that I was not pressuring myself too much.

But, anyway! About Sora… The things I knew about him: he was right-handed; he could be talkative during class (unless working diligently while under pressure to finish); he liked to doodle while taking notes (this I had seen firsthand when he sat next to me last year during Honors English III); his binders were plastered with both pictures of him and his friends and a whole bunch of stickers. He seemed to be a fan of art, because he could often be found drawing in his free time. In fact, most of my information came from the very reliable source of my friend, Naminé, who took art classes with him. From her, I learned of many things that Sora likes—since the two chatted amiably while drawing. I was always very eager to hear any news from Naminé; I always hungered for new information about Sora that could be entered into my mental archives.

When I first caught sight of Sora, back in freshman year, on the first day of school, we were waiting in line to get our updated schedules (as opposed to the ones we got at orientation during the summer). I only saw the back of his head; even so, I was intrigued by his quirky, spiky brown hair. I thought it was charming, in a way; it made me want to see the face of the person with such hair. I didn't really see his face until first period—Honors Geometry. He sat front and center, right in front of the overhead projector. As I entered the room, his head swiveled to see what new person had just come in. He blinked a bit, staring at me with those lovely blue eyes that bewitched my heart. And then, he offered a timid smile, allowing just the corners of his mouth to quirk upward. Fighting against the racing of my heart, I returned his smile, too nervous to give him a full teeth-baring one.

I made to approach him, but it was not meant to be. One of my friends, who sat on the other side of the room, called out, "Riku!" and waved me over, grinning like an idiot. I hesitated, which made the blond impatiently call me over.

Losing my cool, I walked across the front of the room, sweeping past the overhead (and therefore Sora's seat), and snapped, "What?! What do you want, Demyx?" He then hurriedly ordered me to sit down—because he had big news. His news: we all (me and my group of friends) would have the same lunch—first lunch. Quite irritated, I supplied, "Cool!" in response and mourned the fact that I was too far from the intriguing brunet to talk to him.

Ever since then, something has conspired against the two of us, not allowing us the opportunity to even speak directly to each other. It got to the point that the most we would do is exchange a polite smile here and there—maybe a nod now and then. It got to the point where it seemed that neither of us had the courage to even _try _and speak to the other. We had had at least one class together each year of high school… and yet, rather pathetically, we had never introduced ourselves. We knew each other's names due to the teachers calling on us, talking to us, or from presentations during class, but we never _knew _each other. And it had been killing me, because I was falling head over heels, _crushing _on some_ guy _that I didn't even _know_! It was maddening!

And so, the fact that Sora sat behind me made me giddy inside; it made me both giddy and nervous. It made me think that, maybe, this year would be the year that we finally, truly _met_. Unfortunately, I _still_ could not find the courage to turn around and talk to him; he, too, merely sat behind me, speaking to those around him but never to me. And then something unfortunate happened: a month into the semester, Mrs. Green decided that everyone was getting too chatty and not getting enough work done… so a new seating chart was designed. We were moved around; both Sora and I sat in the front… but on opposite sides of the overhead projector—I sat with my back to the door. The damn machine blocked us from even seeing the other's face. However, neither of us could complain because of our "vision problems". At least Sora's vision problems were legitimate.

As far as the other classes were concerned, we were screwed. Our old fogy of a math teacher despised talking during class and would give zeroes for participation if anyone talked. We didn't have third period together. Our seats were too far apart in AP Japanese for us to talk. In AP Lit, my friends surrounded me while Sora was off in his own little island on the other side of the room, in the front, as usual. Yes, we were screwed; it was not meant to be.

The real story begins on February 14, 2008: Valentine's Day.

For the past three years, I had received countless cards from admirers—all of them female (from what I could tell), most of them immature and downright inane. This year seemed no different… that is, until I encountered _the note_.

It was while I was on my way to my next class that it happened. Normally, I wouldn't stop at my locker between periods one and two (since the classes were very close to one another); however, today was a special case—I needed to grab my book for Honors Anatomy, because I'd shoved it in there so that I wouldn't have to deal with it during Economics. The journey from period two (Prob & Stats) to period three (Anatomy) usually took almost the entire passing period—because the classes were _so _far apart. This was why I decided that I would grab the book on my way to second period.

I swiftly twirled the knob on my combination lock, yanked on the contraption to open it, pulled it from the hole on the handle, and tugged my locker door open. I noticed that I had already reached an influx of love letters—even this early in the morning. Many of them covered up the textbook that I needed. After sliding the lock back into its respective place, I reached in to grab my textbook; as it came out, something slid off of it—a small, plain, white envelope. Blinking in surprise that I had missed clearing off one, I stooped down to scoop it up, absentmindedly shutting and locking my locker again, my hand blindly working the lock.

First, I looked at the front. It simply said:

_To: Riku _

Flipping it over, I found that the flap of the envelope was sealed shut along the seam but also had a sticker in place. The sticker was a medium-sized, red heart with white lettering that cried: _Happy__** Valentine's**__ Day! _(I don't know why "Valentine's" had a bolder font—perhaps to put emphasis on the holiday?)

I decided that I would wait to open it until I got to my seat in Prob & Stats and shoved the envelope into my roomy front, right pocket. I walked a bit faster through the halls, wanting to get to class as soon as possible to open the letter.

For some reason, this letter stood out to me; and, even though it did not seem very original in form at all, something about it called to me, begging me to open it and read its contents. That is why as soon as I got my things settled on my desktop in preparation for class, I pulled the envelope out of my pocket, sat down, and fastidiously opened it, mindful of not ruining the sticker or tearing the flap. (I am weirdly considerate like that.)

Inside was a Valentine's Day card. This was no ordinary card, though—this one was hand-drawn (although it was on a store-bought, blank card)… and the artist was quite skilled. The illustration on the front was that of a large, very decorative heart, outlined in a complicated pattern of vines with roses blooming on them. Above the heart, the words: _Happy Valentine's Day! _in what appeared to be calligraphy done by the same artist. I opened the card to find it empty except for the following handwritten message:

_Dear Riku, _

_You don't really know me, and I don't really know you, but I think I am falling for you._

There was no signature, no identification of any kind—not even a "Secret Admirer" sort of conclusion. However, there was a little smiley face drawn below this message. Needless to say, I was quite baffled at the card. Someone had taken (most likely) a great amount of time to buy this plain card and draw the image on the front… only to leave that kind of message? It just seemed rather… odd, to me. And then, further complicating things, I flipped it over onto the back, where the following words were neatly printed:

_P.S. I didn't want to freak you out by writing this on the part of the card that you'd immediately see, but… I am a guy—as evident by my guyish (okay, not a word! But it should be!) handwriting. Hehe. _

_P.P.S. If you would like to hear more from me, please place the enclosed sticker on your locker door—that way I will know that it is okay to bother you. Hehehe. _

Furrowing my brows, I peeked inside the envelope and discovered that I had overlooked a small scrap of paper; pulling it out, I regarded the sticker that was (possibly) to go on my locker door. It was a simplistic, yellow smiley face sticker. For some reason, I found myself grinning at it. It was so… silly, rather… cute, even. I don't know why, but it tickled me. Placing the sticker and the card back in the envelope, and sliding the envelope in a safe compartment of my backpack where it wouldn't get damaged, I decided that I would put the sticker on my locker door and encourage my secret admirer to write again.

At lunch, (first lunch, which Sora coincidentally had—because of his fourth period, AP Japanese) after I finished eating, I thought about the card and began to wonder about the artist/ author. I didn't dare pull out the card, because I knew that my friends (who sat around me) would inquire about it. So I just ate my lunch and pretended to listen to them while really pondering my situation.

This was the first card I'd ever received from a guy (that I knew of). Most people who slipped (or flat-out gave) me cards would usually sign it. It struck me as odd that this guy would choose to remain completely anonymous—that is… until I realized that he was actually very smart for doing that. For all he knew, I could be grossed out by the idea of another guy liking me; and if he'd given a name, then his secret would be out around school, and some hate crimes could possibly start up. …God, that would suck!

This new revelation actually made me feel _relieved _and even _grateful _that my admirer did not reveal his identity. It made me oddly proud of this person I did not even know simply because he was smart enough to plan ahead. I suppose I was rather in awe that someone around my age could be so thoughtful (as opposed to impetuous).

While I waited for my fourth period (AP Japanese) teacher to come and unlock the door, I decided that now would be an opportune moment to pull the card out again. I tossed my backpack on the ground in order to bend over and open up the small compartment where the card was stored. Since it usually took my teacher a few minutes to arrive, I figured that I would have enough time to admire it and try to guess the identity of my admirer.

I didn't know why I felt so _okay _with the fact that the note came from another guy. I just… did. Getting cards from girls over the past few years had bored me; in fact… the thought of ever having a girlfriend bored me. I hadn't had a girlfriend throughout my entire high school career on account of my excuse: _I need to focus on my studies and my after-school stuff_. This was probably true, but, at the same time, it felt a little untrue. And the more I thought about it… the more I came to realize one crucial thing: there was a high possibility that I… was gay.

It was quite ridiculous that I had not realized this before, considering that I was already aware of having a crush on a fellow male student. I guess I just never… realized the truth of it until this moment.

Completely unfocused on the card in my hands, I gaped, my heart racing.

_Oh, my God! I… I'm gay? But… what? Why? How am I even sure? Oh, my God! What the hell?! _

I then commenced mentally spazzing out, bouncing back and forth between questioning my situation… and flat-out denying it.

"Hey, Sora!" the voice of Kairi, Sora's best friend, cried. My attention snagged, I lifted my head to regard the pair. "Sorry I missed out on lunch! I had to make up that stupid test!"

Standing quite close by to me, I noted, Sora grinned… and my heart skipped a beat. It was that very expression, combined with his adorable face and blue, blue eyes, that had stolen my heart. Against my will, a grin crept onto my face. I quickly squashed it and made it seem like I was mindlessly staring past them, _bored _out of my mind. (In reality, I was admiring Sora's profile and eavesdropping on their conversation.)

Unfortunately, the one who spent the most time talking was Kairi—Sora just politely listened, smiling and nodding, only occasionally offering a word or two in response. I was quite disappointed. The redhead didn't stay long; she left a few minutes before the late bell was due to ring in order to get to her fourth period on time.

Our teacher came around the corner, her sandal-clad feet elegantly tapping along the cement, her long skirt softly swishing as she brushed past the students gathered in order to unlock the door. I took this opportunity to put the card away again and sling my backpack onto my left shoulder, letting the rest of it hang down loosely. I was one of the first to enter the classroom and claim my seat.

Amazingly enough, today, our teacher felt like letting us switch seats, informing us that we could choose wherever we wanted to sit. I nearly died from my internal spaz attack of excitement. I wondered where I should move—and if Sora planned on moving. I decided that I would stay in my seat and let him decide (which was actually quite cowardly of me, but oh well!)

I did my best to appear nonchalant and keep my eyes off Sora; to occupy myself, I pulled out my binder designated for this class and "set up shop," as I sometimes thought of it. And then I heard it: "Is this seat taken?"

I turned my head and prayed that I was neither blushing nor grinning like a fool, nor gaping, at my crush, who stood there, smiling amiably at me. I heard his question… and yet, I forgot it. I ended up nodding my head; a split second later, I realized my mistake and fervently shook my head instead. Sora laughed benignly at me, but I still blushed and avoided his gaze.

When I got the courage, I looked up—right into his eyes. Sora and I offered each other mutual smiles that were perhaps a notch above polite, leaning toward… friendly—amiable smiles between near acquaintances. I suppose this is what gave him the strength to state, "I'm Sora! I'm in… well, I'm in practically every class of yours this year!" He emitted a short laugh; I smiled pleasantly in his direction, willing my frighteningly-fast heart rate to slow down.

Nervously, still smiling, I offered, "Hi. I'm Riku."

He laughed. "I know. I've seen you around since freshman year."

"Yeah, I've seen you, too."

Oh, God. I sounded like an idiot!

I patiently waited as he sat down and got out his binder for this class. This binder had different pictures and stickers on it than his other one. Noticing a sticker of GIR, I gathered up my courage and asked, "So… you like _Invader ZIM_?"

"Huh?" He blinked at me. I gestured at his binder by nodding my head in its direction. Sora followed my line of vision, saw the sticker of the teal-eyed robot boy, then exclaimed, "Oh, yeah! I love GIR—and_ Invader ZIM_! The show's hilarious! …Do you like it, too?"

"Yeah. It's a funny show."

He smiled at me, nodding softly. A moment of awkward silence passed in which Sora appeared to be waiting for me to say something else. When I did not, he glanced at my binder to see, perhaps, if I had something on it that was of interest to talk about. Unfortunately, my binder was boring—completely devoid of decoration. And so, the two of us remained in our awkward silence until, just a few seconds later, our teacher decided to start the lesson.

There were no opportunities in which I could talk to Sora, since today was spent doing silent work—reading a passage and answering comprehension questions on it. Time flew by because of how long it took me to read the short story. I did not even get around to starting on my questions. At least Sora was in the same boat—right as the bell finished ringing, and everyone is packing up, I heard him mutter to himself, "Damn! I just finished _reading_!"

Hoping that I sounded sympathetic, I stated, "So did I. I didn't even get a chance to look at the questions yet! It took me forever just looking up all the words I didn't know!"

He grinned at me, seemingly delighted that he wasn't the only one struggling with getting through the reading. He laughed. "Yeah, well, I guess this means that we'll both be doing the questions for homework."

I wanted so much to ask him for his number (under the pretense of working on the questions with him over the phone, of course!) but lost my nerve. I could not ask him; and it appeared that even the cheery, talkative Sora could not muster up the nerve to ask someone he barely knew for their number.

Realizing that I had already wasted a good, solid minute of passing period (the seven minutes allotted to us to get to our next class) just sitting here with Sora, I hurriedly began packing up; my classmate followed suit.

In a rather nice turn of events, the two of us walked side by side during our remaining time, exiting the foreign language building, moving down the outdoor corridor a few feet, then entering the English building through the same door (which I held open for him). He thanked me, speaking for the first time since leaving the classroom. I nodded my head to acknowledge his thanks. We then walked all the way down the hall together to our AP Lit room, outside of which we stood, because our teacher was still chatting with a colleague in the staff room next door, where she ate her lunch. This presented us with an opportunity to talk again.

I rifled through my brain for something to talk about. Striking up a conversation is horribly difficult.

So, even though we were given this opportunity to talk, we let it slip through our fingers—namely because we couldn't think of anything to say. However, since we were the first in the classroom, we paused before the right-hand corner of the blackboard to read the daily quote that Mrs. Murphy put up there (usually having something to do with our current study). I read it aloud to Sora just because I felt like it. We were soon forced to move, though, as we were blocking the other students from getting to their seats. This meant that Sora would go be in his little island, and I would sit in my usual seat, surrounded by my friends. It rather depressed me that we could be so close and yet so far from each other.

The sucky thing about today's AP Lit: today was our scheduled day to write our response to our in-class open-ended essay question on _The Importance of Being Earnest_, which we had been studying for about a couple of weeks. The worst part: we could not use our book; we had to pull the quotes from our _head_!

Our choices of prompts:

A. In many plays, a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the play.

Choose a major character from this play to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points:

1. What the character's illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the play

2. How the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the play

B. In some novels and plays, certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant. In an essay, describe the major similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in this play, and discuss the significance of such events. Do not merely summarize the plot.

C. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or traditions. Using this play note briefly the particular attitude or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader or the audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

D. "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter"

—George Meredith

Choose a scene or character from this play that awakens "thoughtful laughter" in the reader. Write an essay in which you why this laughter is "thoughtful," and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

Wow. So many options, and I still had no idea what to write. I couldn't help but notice the typo on the prompt, which only distracted me further from deciding what I wanted to write. Casting my eyes from my paper, I peeked around the shoulder of Zexion and tried to see what Sora was up to. He was tapping his black BIC pen thoughtfully against his lower lip while staring at his essay prompt. I wondered which prompt he would choose and what, exactly, he would write.

Dragging my eyes back down to my prompt, I wondered what sort of essay writer Sora was. Was he insightful? Was he good at writing essays? Had he acquired the necessary skill of bullshitting an essay? Was he one of the many students who did not thoroughly analyze something? Surely he must be competent at writing essays if he had made it through three years of Honors English and was now in AP Lit & Comp! Of course, then, that should have applied to everyone in here, but it probably didn't. There were still students who would get C's and D's on their essays. It probably didn't help that Mrs. Murphy was a difficult grader and a strict teacher. It was an amazing feat that my first essay of the year earned a C , and that none of my essays ever fell below that—except for that _one _C- on that stupid "Dramatic Monologue" essay. Stupid poetry, and my lack of analytical skills concerning them! My average essay grade tended to be in the B to B- range. Actually, I think my essay on _King Lear_ back in October earned an A- !

Oh, dear Lord! Why was I sitting there spacing out when I hadn't even started my essay?! I only had this class period to write it, and it was expected to have at least five paragraphs! Crap!

And so, I chose the first prompt since that seemed to fit with the random quotes in my head. And even though Mrs. Murphy threatened to gouge her eyes out with a screwdriver every time she read, "In such-and-such a piece of literature by so-and-so," I put the pen to paper and started my essay with:

In Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, a great deal of importance is placed upon having the name Ernest. Jack denies being a Bunburyist despite the fact that he claims two different names: Jack "in the country" and Ernest "in the city". The more Algernon talks of Bunburying, the more Jack seeks to deny it. This theme of Bunburying, or leading a double life, occurs throughout the play—even up until the very end—until the Bunbury fellows that the two males created are destroyed by the truth. It is for the sake of the women they love, who are also sadly deluded, that they choose to reveal everything.

_Did I really just say "fellows"? …God, this has to be the __**worst**__ introductory paragraph ever! I think I just jumped from having the name Ernest to talking about Jack and Bunbury…ism. …I wonder if Sora has a Bunbury. I wonder if… I wonder if he has himself… and then his Bunbury is the author of the Valentine's Day card! …I am getting way ahead of myself—and I'm losing focus! Focus, Riku! You are in the middle of writing an essay! Quit distracting yourself! _

God, I hated writing essays….

* * *

Each class was fifty-five minutes long (except for third period, which was longer because of the "every other day bulletin" that would sound through the intercom speakers—usually on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). This meant that I probably spent anywhere from forty to forty-five minutes doing nothing but frantically writing my craptacular essay. Accordingly, my wrist was sore, and my fingers seemed to be locked into place, clutching my blue BIC pen. I was never more grateful for the bell to ring than on a day that had an in-class essay. This day was no exception. I especially loved when the bell would ring at the end of fifth period, because I had no sixth period.

I turned in my paper a minute or two before the bell rang, nearly heading toward the teacher's desk before remembering that, duh! the baskets were on the table by the _door_, on my side of the room!

I turned with the intention of heading back to my seat… but I didn't; I got caught up in watching Sora.

I found that Sora was still hurriedly scribbling away, determined to cram as much in as he could before class ended. I smiled; this fact was quite endearing. I found myself so caught up in watching him that I jumped when the bell rang, and everyone started shifting. Blinking a bit, I watched as the brunet across the room quickly tacked on whatever last bits he could before standing, stapling his pieces of notebook paper together, and tossing the essay in the appropriate basket (to my amusement, I found that he put it in the one with the sign marked "A," meaning: he chose the same prompt as I did). It was at this moment that he grinned at me and half-groaned, "I think my hand is broken!"

I laughed, agreeing, "Mine, too!"

One last smile was shot my way before he scampered back to his desk to pack up. I maneuvered myself out of the small pond of students gathering to submit their papers. Heaving a breath of relief, I scooped up my backpack, shut my binder (which I then crammed into my bag), and zipped the thing shut a little quickly. I nearly pinched the skin of my finger. Actually, I think I did, a little. I put my fingertip in my mouth, sucking on the injured digit and cursing my impatience. Soft laughter reached my ears at this moment; looking over proved my suspicions: Sora was the one laughing (good-naturedly) at me. I waited for him to walk the couple of feet required to cross the room before leaving with him.

"So…" he started. "What do you have next?"

I hoped I didn't sound too smug as I answered, "Nothing. I only have five periods."

"Aww! Lucky!" He shot me an envious sort of smile, pressing his lips together to further denote his jealousy of my situation.

I pointed out, "Well, you were the one who chose to T.A. sixth period; you could have been like me, you know."

"That's true. …Hey! How did you know that I T.A. sixth period?" He fixed his curious eyes on me, and my heart freaked; I panicked.

Caught off-guard, I went with, "Naminé told me," which was actually the truth.

He seemed surprised at this. "I didn't know you were friends with Naminé! She never mentions you!"

"I'm not that close to her, really. I'm actually friends with Axel, who is friends with Roxas, who's Naminé's boyfriend."

Sora laughed in delight. "I know Roxas—and Axel! Wow! What a small world!"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, guess so." I was getting all hot and bothered by talking to Sora. It was quite stressful, because my heart just kept thumping at a horribly uneven pace.

We walked out of the building in silence, strolling along the outside corridor, the Science building on our left, the Foreign Language building on our right. When we neared the end of the FLB, Sora wondered, "So what do you usually do during your non-existent sixth period?"

I told him my options and supplied that I would probably work on our Japanese homework. He nodded then sighed, mumbling, "I better go! You know the Art buildings are all the way on the other side of campus!"

"All right! See you later!"

With a wave, a grin, and a quick "See ya!" Sora took off, speed-walking/ pushing through the sea of students on their way to class. When I could no longer see him, I entered the library, where I settled down to do my homework. I finished all of my homework, from all of my classes (well, the ones that I had homework in, anyway), with ten minutes to spare, leaving me with nothing to do. Due to this, I took out my Valentine card again and admired it some more.

I loved everything about how the heart was drawn. I loved the calligraphy-style declaration. I definitely loved the uniqueness of the main message—even though it drove me crazy. And, after looking at the back, I decided to vacate the library and go tend to the business of putting the sticker on my locker door.

I don't know why, but I hesitated. For one brief moment, I hesitated. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I knew that taking this step would be starting something very big; and this scared me. Even so, I put the sticker smack dab in the middle, just below the vents through which many notes had been slipped to me. And so, it began.

* * *

**A/N: Hehehe. **

**Please note that any stickers that I mention in this story are ones that I have seen; I do not make them up; they are not the product of my imagination/ creativity. Lol. **

**This will be a short multi-chaptered fic, but, hopefully, it will also be a cute one. **

**: 3 **

**Please review! **

**Kagome-chan **


	2. Hints

Chapter Two: Hints

The following morning, the fifteenth, a few minutes before first period was due to start, I opened my locker to put away the stuff I brought for my club—since it was Friday. Right as I was about to set down my plastic bag full of stuff, I caught sight of the small, white envelope in there. I reached my hand in to pull it out before shutting my things away and securing my locker.

The front still said:

_To: Riku_

The back was sealed and had a different sticker in place. The sticker: a red rose. I felt tempted to open the letter then and there but knew that I had better to get to Economics before the late bell rang. Luckily, the room was nearby.

Upon entering, I discovered that most people were already in their seats, waiting for class to begin. I scurried to my seat, giving a brief nod in greeting to Sora (across the way, clearly visible due to the fact that the overhead was not in between us at the moment) as I set the envelope on the surface of my desk. I then sat and began digging through my backpack for my much-needed binder. The late bell rang while I was doing this.

As soon as I had my notes from the day before open, I casually lifted the end of my binder that my letter was under and slid the envelope into my lap. Again, very conscientiously, I pried the back open, leaving everything intact.

This love note was quite different from the declaration from the day before. First of all, it was on notebook (college-ruled) paper that was folded into a rectangle small enough to fit into the envelope. However, it was written in the same black ink—from what appeared to be a high-quality pen. On the front, just like the front of the envelope, it said:

_To: Riku _

There was an unadorned heart drawn below this. After peeking slightly to the right and discovering that my teacher was busy on the classroom phone in the back of the room, I decided that I would unfold it and read the message.

_Dear Riku, _

_Quite frankly, I am surprised that you even put the sticker on your locker door. (You don't have to keep it there, if you don't want to; in fact, it might be better to take it down before it gets vandalized. Eep!) _

I scrutinized this intro and came to the decision that the author of this note was definitely intelligent—otherwise, the semi-colon would have been, most likely, a misplaced comma. (Since most people like to put commas instead of semi-colons.) Keeping this notion in mind, I continued reading, noticing that the guy did not waste space by skipping lines between paragraphs. I also noticed that, because of the size of his writing, his message took up pretty much the entire page.

_I was so sure that you would toss my card aside like all the ones you received before. I honestly don't know what to say now that you are at least curious about me._

_Let's see… Well, I am not going to reveal my identity to you (for obvious reasons); however, if you would like, I can give you my likes and dislikes… and, I suppose, in doing so, give you hints about who I am. I only ask that, should you figure out who I am, and should you not be… umm… interested… that you leave me be. You seem like a decent enough guy to abide by that simple rule. Hehe. : ) _

_Anyway, if yes to wanting to get to know me, please put the enclosed sticker on your locker door. _

_If no… well, that obviously means that you're not interested in what I have to say. So you won't have to do anything, if you're not interested. I'll let you be, in that case. _

_Have a nice day! _

I grinned down at the note. I thought it was adorable in its frankness. His use of the word "abide" confirmed my suspicion of intelligence. I couldn't think of anyone I knew that had used that word recently in conversation.

I set the note on the side of my desk, grabbing its original container so that I could see what the sticker looked like. I grinned anew at the sight of it.

It was a black, vinyl sticker, oval in shape. It had white stars on it, along with the following words done in white:

_AW, LET  
PLUTO  
BE A PLANET_

"PLUTO" was very decorative, making it stand out amongst the other words. I chuckled lightly at the sticker, thinking to myself that it was definitely a "keeper". My head jerked to the right as I heard my teacher hang up the phone. This translated as: put the love note away, or face the consequences! (I was pretty sure that Mrs. Green would just tell me to put it away, but I didn't want to tempt fate.)

I was in such a hurry to slip the sticker back in there that, on my way to grabbing the envelope, I knocked the letter off my desk. And, as fate would have it, the door opened, admitting a gust of air as well as a tardy student. The wind blew my note along the floor. I cursed my carelessness—the letter was _open_! And, to make matters worse, the breeze blew it as far as Sora's left foot.

My heart thudded anxiously in my chest as Sora immediately bent down to scoop it up. He smiled as he actually got _up _from his seat and handed it to me, his beautiful blue eyes seeming to shine with a special light just for me. It made my stomach get that dropping sensation. Clearing my throat and blushing like a madman, I timidly accepted it back with a quiet, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." _Sparkle sparkle _went his eyes… and_ thump-thump-thump _went my heart. Sora casually made his way back to his seat.

I quickly ducked my head, folding up the letter before shoving it back into the envelope, which I hurriedly put away in that same compartment in my backpack from the day before. I could not rid myself of the heat in my face; nor could I rid myself of the giddy feeling I received when Sora smiled at me like that, which caused me to consistently smile. Oh, those _eyes_! They had definitely enchanted me!

From that moment on, I had a _very _good day at school simply because Sora had _smiled _at me so beautifully.

* * *

On Monday, I got to my locker ten minutes before the bell to get to class was due to ring. It had been quite difficult disentangling myself from my group of friends, but I had managed it. And now, I was free to get this morning's letter. My heart rate picked up, and I grinned in anticipation, as I saw the familiar envelope—the same as the day before, which would become customary. So, after delicately peeling back the red rose enough and opening the flap, I wiggled the contents out of the envelope. There was a folded up piece of notebook paper and an index card (cut in half) with its back facing me. I decided to look at the note first.

_Dear Riku, _

_I was very glad to see the sticker on your locker. It did my heart good and encouraged me. This is why I must ask of you: if you're encouraging me just so that you can find out who I am and make a fool of me… please stop now before I get my hopes up. I really don't think you'd be that type of person, but you never know. _

_Anyway, assuming that you are not just out to humiliate me, I am here to tell you that each clue about my likes and dislikes will be on the enclosed index card(s), which you shall receive daily. I will give you TEN clues ONLY! And they'll be vague ones, at that! _

_: P_

_Have a nice day! _

This got my adrenaline rushing. I set the letter down in my locker and pulled out the index card, flipping it over. Its message:

_CLUE # 1: I'm right-handed! _

The author was definitely accurate when he said that the clues would be vague. Most people in the world are right-handed; this did not narrow things down much. Heaving a sigh, I decided that I would compile all of these letters, inside their corresponding envelopes and with their attachments (stickers and/or index cards), and put them in a shoebox. For the time being, I simply put this day's letter in my backpack.

* * *

Sora and I did not have much opportunity to talk to each other—even during AP Japanese, during which we were doing more reading. In AP Lit, we were, of course, isolated—that, and we were busy listening to Mrs. Murphy talk about Joseph Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_, continuing from where she had left off on Friday while we all read from the class sets.

Despite the fact that it was only around seventy pages in length, the reading was slow going. This meant that, as our teacher combed through each paragraph, giving us aid for future reference, we would spend the entire period just dealing with a small chunk of the story, taking notes along the way. And we had only just started on it—not to mention the fact that Mrs. Murphy had already handed out a sheet detailing our humongous project due near the end of March. The assignment was to write twenty-five to thirty pages of analysis on a nearly seventy-page novella. Sure, there was a lot to analyze but… still! Ugh! Luckily, though, it gave Sora and me something to talk about during passing period before splitting up for our respective sixth periods. It made me think that, maybe, Sora and I could find an excuse to talk for long hours, helping each other with this horrendous assignment. It seemed much nicer to imagine us helping each other, critiquing each other, than writing thirty pages of bullshit on my own. ...And we could talk about the rest of our projects until the end of the year, too. That would be nice.

Once I finished my homework, I did what was starting to become customary: I took out the day's letter and re-read it. This time around, though, I began speculating on what other hints he might give me.

Already, just from the way Sora had smiled at me on Friday, I was hoping that he was the author of the notes. I began hoping that one of the hints would be that the author was in one (or more) of my classes. I started wishing that each clue would point to Sora, and that the final result would be that he and I would meet… and then… I didn't know after that. I had a mental block when it came to my crush; I was quite incapable of imaging the two of us doing anything even _remotely _intimate. I couldn't even imagine touching his hand or kissing him! It was quite pathetic, really.

At the same time, I was trying desperately not to get my hopes up. After all, what if this guy was someone else—not Sora? How would I handle that?

For the rest of the period, I pondered this scenario. Say that I figured out—_definitively_—that Sora was not the author of the love notes; this meant that it had to be someone else. However, how would I even discover the author's true identity unless I knew them_ somehow_?

It seemed to me that this person was counting on the fact that I would have some form of contact with him, thereby giving me the opportunity to find out his likes and dislikes, and making it easier to guess his identity. At the same time, though, what if this weren't true? What if the author wanted to just list off things that they liked/ disliked to make me feel like I was getting to know them? But, wait! That didn't make any sense! Surely, the whole point of sending me these notes was to eventually come clean in some way. Ahh… but the whole point of being anonymous is not to reveal one's identity!

I was quickly growing frustrated with this line of thought… so I just decided that I would not worry about it until I got more clues; and, in the meantime… I would let myself hope just a _tiny _bit that each clue would point to Sora.

* * *

During first period on Tuesday, Sora came in late and handed a note to Mrs. Green. I discreetly watched him maneuver his way through the space between the overhead and my desk; I blushed as I noticed that his butt, clad in dark jeans, rubbed accidentally against my desk. The white hoodie he wore appeared very soft, making me want to reach out and touch it (but I didn't). He was so close to me in this moment that I caught a whiff of him—a clean sort of smell that I assumed could be attributed to body wash or soap, meaning that he must be the type of person to shower in the morning (perhaps as a way of waking himself up).

After class, as Sora stood and slung his satchel onto his shoulder, I admired the front of his hoodie: there was the rising sun logo, which looked especially red against the white; and then there was the word "PARAMORE" stretched across it in black letters. It made me wonder what the word "PARAMORE" meant. So, hoping that I sounded casual, I asked him about it on our way to second period.

He laughed at me. "'What does Paramore mean?' Well, it's actually the name of one of my favorite bands. They based it off of a friend's mother's maiden name; but, supposedly, they liked that it sounded like the word 'paramour,' which means 'secret lover' in English… I think—like one in an adulterous relationship. But, if you split it up so that it is 'par' space 'amour'—then it's French for 'out of love'—like doing something out of love—not like you have no love or anything. …But I don't think they thought of that."

I wondered, "Do you speak French?"

He laughed again. "Nope! Not really. I only know a couple of things. My friend, Kairi, is actually taking French; anything I know of it, I know from her."

"Ah. I see."

Sora asked me if I spoke French; I shook my head, replying, "Not a word." He grinned, chuckling lightly at the way I phrased my answer. God, he looked adorable like that.

Unfortunately, our first period was very close by to our second, which meant that we were soon inside our math classroom, getting into our respective seats (which were nowhere near each other, because of Mr. Turner's stupid seating chart).

In what was becoming a pattern, Sora and I walked together toward our respective third periods (as far as we could). This walk was longer, giving us more opportunity to talk. We mainly commented on how terrible a teacher Mr. Turner was. Upon reaching our junction, we offered each other smiles and "See you in fourth!" I walked the rest of the way to third alone but happy, thinking that today was a good day so far. And it only got better.

While we were standing around, the bell having just rung, waiting for our teacher to arrive, Sora introduced me to Kairi as his "friend, Riku". Warm and fuzzy feelings abounded, causing me to grin profusely at his friend as I nodded in greeting. "Hey! Nice to meet you." The girl blushed, smiling lightly as she hugged the book in her arms to her chest. I guess she thought that smile was meant for her. Oops.

Sora stated to Kairi, "Riku asked me, 'What's Paramore?'"

Her attention now on her friend, Kairi giggled, exclaiming, "Uh-oh! Looks like you'll have to enlighten him!" Sora grinned, waving goodbye as Kairi excused herself in order to have enough time to get to class.

To my great surprise, Sora produced an iPod nano (in protective casing) from his pocket, held up its corresponding headphones, and cheerily asked, "Want to hear what Paramore sounds like?" I eagerly nodded.

Much to my delight, Sora was such a big fan of Paramore (and still is) that he couldn't stand not listening to it—meaning: I had one earbud in; he had the other. We stood very close together, one finger to the ear without the earbud in order to shut out the sound around us, our faces inclined toward each other as we listened to the track labeled: "Misery Business (Single Version)".

I smiled fondly as Sora mouthed along to it, grinning the whole time (but especially hard on the phrase "biggest smile!"). I nearly giggled when he bobbed his head along to the beat, throwing a whole bunch of emotion as he lip-synced to his apparently-favorite song. He was almost too adorable to handle. Of course, it didn't help matters when he decided to lock eyes with me and, smirking, mouthed, "…It just feels _so _good!" at the very end of the song. I admittedly blushed from seeing his mouth move to form those words.

As soon as I handed him back the earbud I'd been using, he wrapped the headphones around his iPod and put the device away—and not a minute too soon, since Naegino-sensei was approaching. Once inside, she paused at her desk, asking Sora, _"Paramore wa nan desu ka?"_'What's Paramore?'

"_Boku no suki na bando desu." _'It's my favorite band.'

Naegino-sensei murmured, _"Ah, sou desu ka?" _'Ah, is that so?'

"_Hai!"_ Sora grinned. I beamed, getting all giddy at hearing him speak Japanese.

On the way to fifth, Sora happily asked, "So, what do you think of Paramore?" He grinned, obviously hopeful that my answer would be positive.

I smiled at him. "They're pretty good. I think I'll reserve judgement until I hear more by them."

"I really think you'll like them! I mean, they're totally _awesome_ live, which shows that they've got great talent. And, frankly, their songs just _rock_!"

I laughed lightly at him. "I'm sure they do to some people; and, to others, they're just kind-of okay. So, like I said, I think I'll reserve judgement until I hear more by them."

Obviously excited by the mere thought of his favorite band, Sora pretty much ordered, "You should listen to more of them when you get home! Let's see… which ones should you listen to first? Umm… oh! 'For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic,' 'crushcrushcrush,' 'Born For This!' 'That's What You Get,' 'Fences,' 'Let The Flames Begin,'—!"

I interrupted him, requesting, "Could you write all these down for me? I'm never going to remember them all."

Immediately, Sora pretty much clammed up. His grin fell as he quickly responded, "You can just Google the band's name and look at their discography. They have two different albums. You should listen to both, but, really, I like their newest one better."

"I'll look into it."

A smile tugged at his lips, and he nodded. "Good." We spent the rest of time walking in silence. For once, Mrs. Murphy had finished her lunch (and finished socializing), so the door was open. The two of us paused to read the quote before heading to the back of the room to grab the red tomes containing _Heart of Darkness_. I shot Sora a smile before taking my seat. Not long after, my friends came in, consumed in a discussion about… Naminé, of all people.

Zexion vehemently declared, "She's not _interested _in you, Demyx! She was just being nice!"

"Oh? Like she's interested in you?"

Running his hand through his silver hair, the bibliophile grinned and cried, "Yeah! I think she is!"

I snorted, drawing attention to myself. The two frowned at me. I calmly uttered, "She's _interested _in Roxas."

The two are horrified by this. They both pretty much choke out, "Roxas?!"

I nodded. My heart skipped a beat as Sora called, "She is. She's always asking me about him."

This made me smirk. "Same here, guys. …You know, you could always try Larxene!"

They both crinkled their faces in disgust before shuffling to the back of the room to pick up their books. After earning an exuberant grin from Sora at the fact that he and I just educated my friends, I busied myself with getting my notes open and patiently waited for class to begin.

Before we started reading, Mrs. Murphy passed back our essays on _The Importance of Being Earnest_. I waited with bated breath for mine to be returned. When I finally got it, my reaction was that of disappointment, and I wrinkled my nose. I knew that my essay had sucked… but I still didn't like getting a C plus. At least it wasn't a D or anything.

After class, Sora asked me what I'd gotten on the essay. I almost didn't want to tell him but ended up doing so. He shrugged one shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile and the words: "Murphy's a hard grader. At least it wasn't a D or anything."

I grinned at the fact that his words echoed my thoughts on the matter. Feeling better, I asked him what he got.

Looking away from me, he mumbled, "I got a B minus…." He grinned at me and explained, "It's probably only because I sacrificed an hour of sleep to memorize some good quotes."

I shook my head. "How did you even think to do that?"

He laughed. "I was bored… and I actually kind-of liked the play. So I re-read it for the fun of it."

My eyebrows went up. "That does it: you are officially insane."

"Aww! The play wasn't that bad! I thought it was amusing!"

I snorted, "I thought it was mostly boring."

It was at this point that we ran out of time and had to separate. Sora clapped his hand on my shoulder, grinning as he told me that I'd do better next time—and, even if I didn't, a C was pretty good for Murphy's class. He squeezed my shoulder, his eyes sparkling as he bid me goodbye and took off. I felt much better about the matter and spent my time in the library grinning to myself, recalling the comforting feel of Sora's hand on my shoulder.

* * *

Over the rest of the school week, I received letters from my admirer. His letters mainly consisted of greeting me, announcing the presence of the index card, then wishing me a nice day. During this time, I was also talking more with Sora. We never got around to asking each other for our numbers (or any contact information, for that matter), but our friendship was definitely evolving—even if we only talked during class and on our way to the next ones.

By the end of the week, I had these five clues:

_Clue # 1: I am right-handed _

_Clue # 2: I hate math! XO _(I thought that the little angry emoticon was cute!)

_Clue # 3: I love pizza (but who doesn't? Most people love pizza!) _

_Clue # 4: I actually enjoy eating vegetables (provided that they are yummy) _

_Clue # 5: I love to swim, but I am not really all that into sports (unlike you, since you seem to be very active! Hehe) _

I adored the parenthetical statements attached to the clues, because it gave me more insight (but not much) on this person. Truthfully, I was already beginning to refer to my secret admirer as Sora… which was probably bad, since my hope was steadily building each day. But, _oh_, how I wanted the author of the notes to be Sora! I wanted it to be so more than anything in my life!

* * *

**A/N: End of chapter two! **

**: D **

**Just to let you all know: this story will be rather short—much like **_**smaerD fo dlroW**_**—except probably even shorter. Hehehe. **

**Please review! **

**Kagome-chan **


	3. More Hints

Chapter Three: More Hints

My shoebox was now filling up: envelopes with their letters, index cards, and stickers occupied more space than one would think. I spent the whole weekend poring over each word—each punctuation mark—even though I knew that it was pathetic. I wanted something that would definitively point directly at Sora. That was why, on Monday, I was ecstatic to find that the day's letter was two-sided and _filled _with juicy details.

_Dear Riku, _

_I take it that you are not out to make a fool out of me, and, because I trust you… I am going to confide in you. _

_When I first saw you, my heart skipped a beat. You smiled at me so shyly that I thought my heart was going to burst from an overload of 'OhmyGod!He'ssocute!' It's been very interesting watching you change these past four years. You seem to have found your groove, and I admire that about you. Not to say that I haven't found my own groove (because I have), but some people end up just drifting through high school, not enjoying it, not really taking anything from it. To me, you seem like a very ambitious, hard-working student, and I like that about you. (Now, granted, I could just be taking this from the fact that you have been and still are in Honors and AP courses, but it seems like a pretty fair assumption given the workload in these classes and the dedication they require.) I like that you seem intent upon going places in this world. I, too, want to get out of here and see what there is to see. _

_I apologize if I sound creepy (and repetitive) in this letter. Looking back over the above section makes me think that I sound somewhat stalker-ish (I swear I'm not! XD); but… even if it does, I feel like I need to tell it to you. _

_Just seeing you brightens my day. I don't even have to talk to you (although that will always be considered a plus). If I had more courage, I would ask for your contact info. _

I flipped the page over and continued reading. At the very top, there was a doodle covering the entire blank strip. It was like a mini comic strip. There were two (presumably male) characters; they were very tiny yet surprisingly detailed for their size.

One complained, 'You're such a pain in the ass!'

The other retorted, 'Do you mean that literally or figuratively?' This anonymous guy grinned deviously.

The first guy deadpanned. 'You're an idiot!'

I chuckled in amusement at the random doodle before continuing with the actual letter.

_Before you even ask about it… I don't know what possessed me to draw that. I guess it's 'cause I was listening to that STUPID song (which cannot even be considered a song) on YouTube—"What What (In the Butt)". A friend of mine showed it to me; about a minute in, I started hitting her over the head with a pillow. For your own sanity, DON'T watch it! T.T _

_I know that entreating you not to will only make you want to watch it, but PLEASE DON'T WATCH IT!! (I'll cry, if you do! That would be almost 4 minutes of your life that you will never get back!) _

_So, anyway! Back to something else a little less disturbing! _

_I started off this year determined to talk to you; and yet, I did not. Come second semester, I decided that I would at least confess via Valentine's Day. (Granted, I was still a coward about it.) This terrifies me to write but… _

_"Confuse everyone" sticker if you think you could ever be involved with another guy_

_"On the other hand…" sticker if you're not okay with this but still want to hear from me (for some odd reason)_

_Nothing if I've freaked you out and you want the madness to stop. _

_(Let it be known that no one even knows about me giving you these notes; whatever you do in reply will only be between us, I swear!) _

This was where the note ended—because the author ran out of room or didn't feel like continuing on another page. I looked at the stickers. One was white with the words: _On the other hand, you have different fingers_. The other was black with white letters suggesting, "Confuse everyone". My heart raced; my throat felt like it was closing up on me. I decided to put the sticker of my choice up before I could have a chance to change my mind; this way I knew that it came from my heart—honest and true—not calculated or mixed with doubt. It was as I stared at the sticker that I realized that I forgot to see what the index card said.

_CLUE # 6: _

_I am taking a foreign _

_language class _

My hands shook as I shoved everything into its usual spot, secured my locker, then speed-walked to the door of my first period.

Inside, there was zero period going on—some sort of work experience class. Zero period was the period before period one—and I believe it started at seven? I wouldn't know, because I never once took a zero period during my high school career. The admins were crazy to label it "zero" period, but that was probably because zero period was optional. Most of the people taking a zero period were Honors or AP kids—well, except for these work experience kids, who didn't even have this class every day. I believed that they only had it a couple of times a week, but I usually got here at the door at the time when they'd already cleared out.

Out of nowhere, a voice cried, "Boo!" causing me to startle and put a hand over my racing heart.

"Jesus!" I swore. "You scared the shit out of me, Sora!"

He grinningly apologized, looking so adorable that I just had to forgive him in that instant.

"So what's up?" he wanted to know.

I shrugged. "Nothing. I just figured that I'd wait around here since the bell's gonna ring soon anyway."

"Cool, cool." He nodded a few times for no real reason. "So did you listen to more of Paramore over the weekend?" He got this gleam of excitement and hope in his eyes.

I smirked, shrugging lightly. "Yeah. They're okay."

He gaped in horror. "Just okay? Aw, man! I was so sure that you would like them!"

This made me laugh. "People have different taste in music, you know."

"Yeah, I know…" he mumbled. "I was just hoping that you would like them as much as I do. Guess this means that I'll never be hanging out with you at one of their concerts—if I were ever to be lucky enough to score tickets to one!" He gave off a small, "Heh!"

Trying to sound nonchalant, I replied, "I don't know. I might go to one if tickets were available. They might endear themselves to me live." _And I would get to see you get all excited and adorable…. _

The bell rang. We stood off the side to let the students in the room exit. When I sat down in my seat, I found that it was warm. This kind-of grossed me out; I prefer to warm my own seat. Of course, if Sora had been the one to warm my seat, I probably wouldn't have minded. Hehe.

On the way out of Economics, I realized that I forgot my math book in my locker. I nervously announced this to Sora, who shrugged in response, saying, "We have time." And so, we _both _went to my locker.

Before I even opened my locker, Sora laughed aloud. When I questioned him as to what was so funny, he happily replied, "I really like that sticker…." He smiled like he was so happy that he could not even express the joy welling up inside him.

I stared at the "Confuse everyone" sticker and just smiled while twirling the knob on my combination lock.

Sora and I were silent on our way to second period, but it was a good silence, I think. We both wore identical smiles while glancing at the other when we thought that they wouldn't notice.

For the rest of the day, the two of us were higher than a kite.

* * *

I arrived to school early the next day in order to retrieve my next letter. I was not disappointed.

_Dear Riku, _

_You have no idea how happy I am that you put that specific sticker on your locker door. I thought I might have a heart attack; I was just so ecstatic that I thought my heart might burst! (And yes, I do realize that I just mentioned my heart doing two different things. Hehe.) _

_In celebration of this fact, I am giving you a more specific clue today. _

Polishing off the message was a smiley face consisting of a pair of dots for eyes and a toothless grin. I thought the little faces that he added were adorable. They made me smile fondly.

After fishing around for a bit, I managed to pull out the index card.

_CLUE # 7: _

_I am in some classes with you_

I nearly started screaming with excitement; it was precisely the type of clue I'd been hoping to get, after all. He said "some classes," which meant _more than one_. Sora was in more than one class with me. And, as proof that he was the author, I could just narrow down the suspect pool by figuring out which guys were in multiple classes with me.

Once I had my stuff dealt with, I headed to the library, thinking through who the potential authors might be.

None of the guys in my AP Japanese class were in any of my others (except for Sora). One of the guys in my Economics class was in my Prob & Stats class, but he had a girlfriend. He was a good, funny guy, too. His name was Scott, and he was in theater. We cheated off each other in Prob & Stats since Mr. Turner never seemed to notice (or, if he did, he didn't seem to care as long as we _learned _something while cheating off each other… and did it stealthily). I really doubted that the author was Scott, though. There was this guy in my Prob & Stats that sat a couple of seats behind me—I think his name was Michael. He was in Honors Anatomy with me. But we never talked. …Then again, that guy Ryan in Anatomy was also in Mrs. Green's class first semester—but he transferred out, because he took AP Economics zero period, with a different teacher.

All in all, the main suspects were: Sora, Michael, and Scott. Out of the three, I sincerely believed (perhaps "wished with all my heart" would be the better expression) that Sora was the one writing me love notes. I mean, I didn't even _speak _to Michael; he was just in my classes. And Scott… he just seemed like a nice guy that I spoke to amicably. We weren't even friends—more like friendly acquaintances. (Of course, the same could be said about Sora at this point in time… but I liked to believe that he and I were now friends—that we'd moved beyond acquaintances.)

So, really, this clue just _screamed _Sora's name.

Immediately upon entering the reference room of the library, I was glad I had come in. Trying to act completely cool about it, I _casually _sat in the swivel chair in front of the computer that was next to Sora's. He looked at me and beamed. I softly greeted, "Hey."

He grinned at me. "Hey."

I opened up the Internet browser and typed in the URL. I wanted to check my mail (even though we were not _supposed _to do recreational surfing on the school computers). My head turned as Sora wondered, "How come you're here so early? Do you usually come here this early?"

I laughed a little. "Well, I usually get here just before the bell rings, actually. I walk to school; Naminé gives me rides home after. I came here early today, because… I don't know, really. I woke up before my alarm went off; and, oddly enough, I wasn't really tired. That's why I decided to take a shower, eat breakfast as I walked, and get here early."

Sora bemoaned, "Oh, man! I don't think I could ever be like that! The only reason I come here at this time is because I want to find good parking!"

"You drive? What do you drive?"

He quite proudly responded, "A gold two thousand Mitsubishi mirage—two-door. It's my honey car."

I chuckled at how adorable I thought this was. I meant to say, "Cool," in response, but the word, "Cute," slipped out in its stead, revealing my true thoughts on the matter. Sora just grinned and turned back to whatever he was doing. Peeking discreetly at his page, I discovered that he was on Wikipedia, looking up information on the band Eisley.

"You like Eisley?"

He turned his head, grinned from ear to ear, and cried, "Yeah! …Do you?"

"I have them on my iPod." My expression mirrored his.

Sora seemed almost secretive when he whispered, "Wanna listen to them right now, then?"

Glancing over my shoulder in the direction of the librarian sitting at her desk, I discovered that she was not looking at us; she was not even facing us—she faced the reference books to our right. I decided that I didn't care if we got scolded, because the woman probably wouldn't even care as long as we kept the volume to a respectable level.

The librarians at our school were only bitchy to those students who were boisterous and rebellious, for the most part. The only thing that they were extremely stern about was cell phones: absolutely NO talking on your cell phone in the library (and, for the most part, not even on-campus).

I handed Sora one earbud, asking, "Which song do you want to hear?"

The earbud was poised to go into his ear, sandwiched between his thumb and index finger. "Umm… I don't know. Something from _Room Noises_. I like that album better than _Combinations_, anyway."

I smiled, concurring, "Me, too." Scrolling through my playlist, I informed my fellow Eisley fan, "I'll put 'My Lovely' on then let it go randomly."

"Okay. Sounds good."

While I checked my mail, Sora perused the Wiki article about the band we were listening to. Whenever he found something interesting, he would mention it to me. My stock answer: "Cool!"

Half an hour passed like this. It came as a shock to both of us when the bell rang, causing us to quickly pack up, close up, and book it to class. We happily conversed about Eisley—their music, our favorite songs (and why), and the facts gleaned from Sora's research—until we had to take our seats, soon to be separated by the overhead.

* * *

_It's a little scary to think that I have already sent you SEVEN letters—and that this is the eighth. _

_I bet you've already started to wonder who I am. I probably shouldn't have been SO specific in that last clue, but, well… too late now! Hehehe. I guess I was a bit excited about… you know… from last time. Oops! _

_Only three more clues to go. (Well, really, TWO once you've read the clue enclosed in this envelope.) I'm starting to get nervous that you'll actually figure out who I am and confront me. XD _

_If you do figure out who I am, could you please be… umm… discreet? As in: pick a time and place where no one is around. If I were you, though, I'd be pretty damn sure before approaching some poor fool with this. (It would suck to embarrass yourself in front of some classmate who might not even care for you beyond, 'Oh, hey! That guy's in such-and-such class!') And, okay… I'll admit it: I would hate for you to say something off the top of your head, from your heart, to someone else other than me. (That's assuming that you have something positive say to a guy who's been crushing on you for about four years. Eep!) _

_God! This letter just got embarrassing! But… I made a pact with myself that as soon as the words leave my pen they will stay on the paper—and that I must give you whatever I write. This prevents me from crumpling up the paper and eventually losing my nerve, which would result in you not getting any letters. Hehe! _

_Have a nice day! _

He punctuated it with a simple smiley that made me want to giggle. I loved how friendly and cheerful these letters were.

This note made my heart race more than any of the others. It concurred with how I was feeling. I wanted to be sure that the author was Sora before approaching him. I would hate to embarrass myself. The letter also stoked my desire to talk to Sora outside of our little bubble known as high school. It made me want to talk with him in the "real world," but I was also afraid of this. The very thought terrified me and made me sick to my stomach with nervousness. I was not ready to confront him. In fact, I was pretty sure that I'd never be able to confront him.

My hand began shaking as I pulled out the index card, flipped it over, and read the day's clue.

_CLUE # 8: _

_I have an oral fixation _

_(meaning: I like to stick things _

_in or around my mouth—usually_

_while I'm writing) _

_PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS _

_PERVERTEDLY OR I'LL DIE! XD_

I laughed quite a bit at the last part. It was adorable. After putting my things away, I shut my eyes and tried to imagine Sora physically saying that. This put a grin on my face. I could quite easily picture him saying something like that.

My grin fell as something new crossed my mind. All of a sudden, I recalled multiple incidents where I'd seen Sora with some writing utensil near his mouth (usually when he was deep in thought): writing essays, taking tests, taking notes, working on homework—anytime he had a writing utensil in hand with the intent of using it, he would tend to stick it in or around his mouth. If the utensil were a pencil, he would usually clamp down on it with his teeth, not quite gnawing it; if it were a pen, he usually just tapped it against his lips or chin—or he let it rest on his bottom lip. I struggled to recall if any of the aforementioned potential authors had this habit as well (since it was a pretty common habit). I could not remember, but I was pretty sure that they didn't.

Having already developed the habit of waking up early (thereby arriving earlier at school), I made a beeline for the library, where I was hoping Sora would be. Just like the day before, he sat at the computer. When I got closer, I could see the cap that was situated on top of his pen resting against his bottom lip as he stared at the screen thoughtfully. I watched as he moved the pen in order to make note of something on a sheet of (currently blank) lined paper. I noticed that the notebook paper he used was college-ruled. I wanted so desperately to peek at his writing before he could figure out that I was there, in the same room, but I felt like… that would be unfair, somehow—that it would be like cheating, in a way. This was why I made sure to look away from the page before he actually started writing.

And so, just like the day before, I sat next to him, keeping my eyes focused on his face instead of his paper. We greeted each other the same way but added on the nicety of asking each other how we were. It did not escape my notice that Sora nonchalantly put his paper out of my line of vision, slipping it into a pocket in his binder, which he put in his satchel. Despite this, heartfelt smiles abounded. I felt like I was on cloud nine. Sora was definitely worth sacrificing sleep for.

* * *

Another habit that developed the first day after it happened: leaving my math book in my locker so that Sora and I would swing by it (and so, he would see each day's sticker in place). It made me feel very giddy to stand by him as he viewed the various stickers. He always commented on them; his stock comment: "I like that sticker." Sometimes, he would grin while saying it; sometimes, he would just smile a little, saying nothing; but, either way, I enjoyed the interaction.

The stickers themselves were highly interesting—not particularly colorful (most were black and white), but definitely amusing with their slogans.

A black one with white writing said:

WHO SAYS I HAVE TO BE NORMAL?

Another sticker (similar to the aforementioned one) said:

I Chose The Road Less Traveled. Now, Where The Hell Am I?

Also similar, there was one that proclaimed:

TACT IS FOR

PEOPLE WHO AREN'T

WITTY ENOUGH

TO BE SARCASTIC

This one made me think of Mrs. Murphy, because the woman was the frank, sarcastic type who only believed in using tact when it came to certain, important cases (like lying or being kind so as not to hurt someone's feelings).

A sticker with two different shades of dark blue and white lettering said:

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

(I chuckled at that one, despite the gruesome imagery it inspired.)

One of my favorites (I still can't figure out _why_): a yellow sticker with green writing. The message proclaimed:

Don't Curse the Darkness  
LIGHT A FART

I giggled like a five-year-old at this one while cursing my immaturity.

They were all similar to this—not very decorative but amusing. Each sticker that I put on my locker door (to be removed the next morning) managed to put at least a smile on my face. Of course, it didn't hurt that I wholeheartedly believed that Sora was my secret admirer.

* * *

**A/N: Thus concludes chapter three. **

**For anyone who is curious about either Paramore or Eisley, I recommend going on YouTube and checking out their songs. **

**I shall show you the KH vids that got me into the bands in the first place (because, yes, that is how I got interested in them). Lol. **

**A vid to the song "Misery Business" (by Paramore): **

http/www. youtube. com/ watch?vlLDvvXlmyEY

**A vid to the song "My Lovely" (by Eisley): **

http/www. youtube. com/ watch?vhjYD75wkRu8

**Please remove the spaces and enjoy. **

**Both bands are awesome, which is why I recommend watching videos of the bands themselves on YouTube. **

**For Paramore, I recommend starting with any of the following: "Pressure," "Misery Business," "crushcrushcrush," or "Emergency". Anything else is either live (which is still AWESOME to watch, because they ROCK live! XD) or fan-made vids with pictures of the band—both of which are enjoyable to see. **

**For Eisley, my personal favorite of their vids is "Telescope Eyes," except that I think it doesn't really fit with the meaning of the lyrics… but that's okay. Another favorite is "Marvelous Things," even though the girls have different hair colors in that vid. Hehehe. **

**: P **

**Please review! **

**Kagome-chan **


	4. Tying It All Together

Chapter Four: Tying It All Together

Thursday, the twenty-eighth, proved to be a very big, stressful day. Not only was Sora's… err… my secret admirer's letter very nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time, I had a small pop quiz in Honors Anatomy. Ugh! The main reason for my on-edge-ness, though, would have to be the letter.

_Dear Riku, _

_It would seem that the two-week timeline I have given myself (and us, really) is coming to a close. I never imagined that I would get this far. Quite frankly, I thought that you wouldn't even give my Valentine's Day card more than a brief glance. Also, I was pretty sure that you had never noticed me before—but that was silly of me, considering that we are in some classes together. _

_I'm certainly getting courageous now in my letter-writing, aren't I? Maybe I should shut up now. XD _

_Have a nice day! _

I swallowed while tugging out the index card. My heart thudded anxiously in anticipation for the ninth clue.

_CLUE # 9: _

_I talk to you on a daily basis_

I was almost positive that Sora was the author. And it probably showed in the way I unabashedly put my hand on his shoulder as he slept at one of the tables in the room with the fiction books. He lifted his head and eyed me blearily. "Hmm?"

Smirking, I sat down next to him, questioning, "Did you not get much sleep last night?"

Laying his head back down and shutting his eyes, he mumbled (almost incoherently), "I was up late doing homework, 'cause I procrastinated."

"Heh. I do that all the time."

His lips curled into a sleepy smile. His eyelashes pressed harder against his cheeks as he scrunched his eyes a bit, yawning into his forearm.

I gently suggested, "Want me to wake you in case you don't hear the bell ring?"

"Mmhmm."

I smiled at how cute he was. "Okay. Happy nap!" He grinned, saying nothing. I watched as his grin melted away. In order to avoid looking like a creep by watching Sora sleep, I dug a book out of my bag and read until the bell rang (at which point, I woke up my sleeping beauty).

I couldn't resist teasing him on the way to first period. He seemed too drowsy to even care.

He looked tired the whole day. He made me a little tired just looking at him. However, I had other things occupying me, keeping me from getting too tired. The thought that kept repeating in my head: _Only one more day. _

I didn't know what to expect, and this worried me.

* * *

_Dear Riku, _

_I feel really nervous and excited writing this letter. I'm a little sad that it is the final one, but… I'm hoping that it won't be the last of our communication. I hope that we can communicate like this… in person. _

_Yes, I said it! In person! XP _

_By now, you must have some idea who I am. And, if you don't… well, then this letter will answer that question (not with a name, but with facts). _

_My crush on you has been so constant, so long-lasting, that I dare to believe that it might be a bit more than a crush. (Please don't go running away just yet! XD) I think, if I had the chance to be with you, that our… ahem… relationship would prosper and quite possibly last a very long time. (You have no idea how embarrassing it was to write "relationship"!)_

_I know that I don't really know you, and you don't really know me, but I truly think that I have fallen for you, Riku. And I really want to get to know you better so that I might find out if we're possibly meant-to-be. I have loved what little I have learned about you so far, and I want to keep on learning. I want to learn everything about you. I want to know what makes you happy, sad, angry, and whatever else! (Okay, yeah, fine "excited"! Ahem!) I want to make you happy, make you laugh, make you… mine. _

I flipped it over and discovered a list covering half a page… and then the closing of the letter.

_Things I love about you: _

_- I love the way you smile_

_- I love the way you laugh_

_- I love the way you always look me in the eye _

_- I love the way your eyes seem to sparkle when _

_you look at me_

_- I love the way your cheeks turn pink just slightly _

_when you're embarrassed_

_- I love the way you don't flaunt your intelligence_

_- I love the way you talk _

_- I love the sound of your voice_

_- I love the thought of your hand on mine, of your _

_body touching mine_

_- I love talking with you, laughing with you, _

_being with you, being near you_

_- **I love you.** _

_I'll be at the bookstore that's across from the mall on Saturday, March 8__th__ from 2-4 PM. I'll be wearing dark jeans and a red t-shirt, and I'll either be sitting there with a book or with nothing. _

_Honestly, I will be disappointed if you don't show, but I will understand. If you show, we can both order drinks and talk; if you don't, well then I'll just order myself a pick-me-up and drive on home. _

_If you are busy, but want to come, please put up the sticker. _

_If you don't want to come… then it's goodbye to the idea of us being together. _

_Thank you for listening. Hopefully see you Saturday. _

The page is filled with his writing on both sides. He used up each line except when he wanted to emphasize something by skipping a line and leaving it blank (such as with his bold, heavily-darkened declaration of "I love you")—that was easy to tell. I realized that by making our appointment for the following Saturday, he was giving me time (in case I was already busy for this weekend); however, this also meant agonizing for a whole week.

The sticker was black and oval; its writing was neon green.

SOMEDAY

WE'LL LOOK

BACK ON THIS,

LAUGH NERVOUSLY  
AND CHANGE THE

SUBJECT

Pulling out the final clue, I swallowed; I was mentally preparing myself before I flipped it over and read it. My heart rate picked up at the detailed clue.

_CLUE # 10: _

_My favorite bands include:_

_Paramore_

_Eisley_

_Evanescence_

_Within Temptation_

_Muse_

_The Cure_

_Panic! At the Disco _

_And more! (Hehe!)_

If I hadn't already felt in my heart that the author was Sora… I sure as hell did after reading that.

* * *

During the weekend, I tried to plan for the following weekend: what I would wear, things I might say, things not to say, etc. I called Naminé to see if she would be able to drive me to the bookstore on the specific date, at the specific time. Luckily for me, she said she could.

The school week was a bit tense and awkward between me and Sora. Our unspoken situation hung in the air, making it difficult to maintain the comfortable, generally cheerful and easy-going air that normally pervaded our conversations. And the closer it drew to Friday, the antsier we became. Writing utensils were accidentally flung or dropped; legs struck a constant rhythm with the foot tapping on the floor unless forced to be still; focus never lasted for long stretches of time. We were hopeless. It was a mercy when Friday rolled around; although, even then, we were jittery.

Late Saturday morning, I slept in until noon yet couldn't stand to eat anything. I took a forty-five-minute shower, trying to let the hot water sooth me. It worked to some extent, but, as soon as I got out, I was back to being sick-to-my-stomach nervous. I got dressed (jeans and a black t-shirt—casual since he would be casual) and began fastidiously fixing my hair—blow-drying it while thoroughly combing it. My work paid off: I got my hair to look sleek like I wanted it to.

When Naminé came to pick me up, she laughed at me and told me to take a chill pill—apparently, I was fidgeting in my seat without realizing it. My anxiety only got worse as we approached the area where the mall was… as we pulled into the parking lot for the bookstore. I barely heard Naminé when she told me to call her when I needed to be picked up—that she would be in the mall in the meantime.

"Okay. Thanks, Nami."

"You're welcome. Good luck on your date."

I flushed but nodded and shut the car door. It was highly intimidating when the white car pulled away and drove off, leaving me alone. However, pushing down my nervousness, I stepped forward, pulled the right-hand door open, and entered the shop.

Immediately, I walked forward and scanned the café area to my right. My heart skipped a beat, and my stomach seemed to drop, as my eyes caught sight of my admirer sitting at a table right next to the window, dressed as he said he would be, reading some book. He kept his eyes trained on the book, which he clutched until the very moment I stood at his table.

I'm pretty sure that both of our hearts were thudding the same exact, frantic rhythm when Sora lifted his head and allowed his eyes to meet mine. He grinned self-consciously and softly uttered, "Hey."

"Hey."

His eyes darted to the unoccupied seat across from him then back to my eyes. "Care to have a seat?"

"Unless you want to get our drinks right now."

God, that took a lot of courage to say. I suppose that made me the first to openly admit to our situation. This seemed to take some pressure off of Sora. After putting a bookmark in place, he casually set down his book and stood, happily agreeing, "Yeah. Let's do that first."

I tried to pay for my own drink, but Sora wouldn't have it; he insisted that it was his treat and said that I shouldn't worry about it.

Once we had our drinks in hand, we ventured back to the table by the window and took our seats. My heart would not beat any slower no matter how I tried to calm it. I had a feeling that Sora was facing the same problem.

"So…" Sora started. He looked down briefly at the mountain of whipped cream that topped his frozen drink. His hands lightly squeezed the cup just before he brought his eyes back up to mine.

Taking a deep breath, I intoned, "I'm glad that it was you. I'd been hoping that it was you the whole time that I got them… but, at the same time, I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. …You know?"

He grinned. "Yeah." A bit more at ease after my proclamation, he sat back in his seat and sipped some of his drink. "So… when did you start to suspect that it was me?"

This made me laugh. I looked down at my beverage, stirring it around with my straw. "Well… I don't know. I was kind-of biased, because, like I said, I wanted it to be you—so that might have tainted my perspective a bit. But, I guess… it was the clue that said that you were in _some _of my classes—meaning more than one."

He practically giggled at this. "Yeah, I had a feeling that that would be the one to do it."

We fell quiet, drinking our icy beverages to cover up making more conversation—while contemplating what else to say. Sora looked up at me, removing the straw from his mouth, when I uttered, "I've had a crush on you since freshman year." My cheeks warmed; I tried my best not to mumble out, "I started liking you from the moment I saw you on the first day of school."

"I guess that was a mutual moment, then."

"Yeah."

After a small lapse in conversation, I stated, "I really loved your letters. They made me excited to go to school."

He laughed. "That's pretty rare nowadays."

"Yeah. …So thank you."

A smile tugged at his lips while his eyes shone brightly with a soft, gentle light. "You're welcome."

Breaking past my awkwardness with surprising ease, I grinned and asked, "So can this be considered our first date or what?"

Sora blushed, laughing wholeheartedly out of surprise. "Sure! Let's make it our first date!"

I decided to push him further. "When do you want your anniversary to be—from our first date or our first kiss?" A grin stretched from ear to ear as Sora blushed even more.

"Uhh…" He barked with laughter. "Umm… I suppose, to make it official… uhh… the… err… umm… our first kiss." He quickly ducked his head, beet red in the face while smiling self-consciously. I chuckled at him before pushing myself to reach my hand across the table, placing it on his. Casting his eyes first to our hands then to my eyes, Sora murmured, "Your hand's freezing."

"Yeah, I know."

A fresh grin crept onto his face as he suggested, "Once we finish our drinks, do you want to walk around outside for a while?"

My expression mirrored his, fondness mixed with happiness welling within my heart. "I'd love to." I squeezed his hand before withdrawing mine.

And so, after enjoying our drinks in comfortable silence, we stood up, threw out our trash, and ventured outside. In Sora's left hand, he carried his book; in his right hand… was my left one.

Just ten minutes later, while sitting on a bench underneath the shelter of a white gazebo, Sora and I shared our first kiss, marking March 8th as the day of our anniversary.

* * *

Currently, having recently graduated from college, Sora and I share a one-bedroom apartment. From time to time, we like to stroll down memory lane, smiling fondly as we get nostalgic. I suppose this is why I still have my shoebox full of his love letters—and every sticker that once adorned my locker door.

We look at them, and we smile, and we kiss, blessing our good fortune. (Of course, it goes without saying that I still like to tease him at times for his notes… but he just blushes and grins, taking it in good stride.)

And so, even with the occasional dispute, we are living _quite _happily ever after.

* * *

**A/N: The End. Yes, "The End". lol. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review; I appreciate it very much.  
**

**Please review! **

**Kagome-chan **


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